1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to ridge waveguide antenna loads and often, more particularly, to traveling wave antennas, such as a continuous slot or discrete slotted ridge waveguide antenna which includes a load positioned at the end of the antenna to absorb and cancel the non-radiated energy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, slotted antennas generally included tapered loads or resonant loads positioned behind the antenna's radiating slot or at the end of the slot. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,485 to Pierre Bonnaval, which issued Aug. 31, 1976, illustrates a continuous slot antenna having a waveguide closed at one end with a tapered load positioned at the closed end of the waveguide to absorb non-radiated energy. While functioning adequately as an absorptive load to absorb microwave energy, the physical size of the load of U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,485 is relatively long and thus not optimal when the antenna is to be located in a confined space or there are size limitations placed on the antenna.